When the lightning ends
by Aggie Deneys
Summary: Hal Jordan/Green Lantern tracks down Wally West/Flash after Wally's abrupt departure upon hearing the news that Bart Allen/Flash had been killed. Hal and Wally discuss Bart's death, Wally's return, and life in general.


Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.

A/N: This story occurs immediately after Wally West/Flash confronted Thad Thawne/Inertia who had played a major role in the death of Bart Allen/Flash.

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><p>Hal Jordan, aka Green Lantern 2814.1, followed the trail. It had been several years since he had last tracked a speedster. The ring never had difficulty tracking them. He briefly wondered what would happen if he ever admitted that little fact to a speedster, especially if he added that each speedster had their own unique signature. He suspected they would laugh and tell him that tracking them was one thing, but that he would never catch them. That was true. He could move quickly, but even his top speed paled in comparison to the speedsters.<p>

He found Wally in a location he would have never guessed – Manchester, Alabama. Wally West, aka the Flash, sat on a hillside, his cowl pulled back, his knees up, his hands covering his face. Even from the distance, Hal could see the young man's shoulders shaking. Unfortunately, Hal knew the reason. Bart Allen, aka the Flash, had been killed. Details were still sketchy, but somehow Bart had been killed in Los Angeles.

Wally and Bart. Flash and Kid Flash. He hadn't had the opportunity to see them function together. The time between his return, Wally's disappearance, and Bart's sudden aging had been too short. From what he had heard from others, Wally and Bart didn't function together and had a tendency to avoid each other at all possible costs. Yet, those comments were always qualified with the note that even though the two speedsters – two cousins – didn't exactly like each other, they did have a grudging respect for each other. Likewise, they would be there for each other in any situation, with only a few questions asked.

Wally's sudden disappearance had caught everyone by surprise. Hal had spent enough time with Wally after his return – rebirth – to see how much the young man had grown. Wally had grown into the role of the Flash; he had made it his own. Hal was glad to see – and hear – that Wally had finally lost many of the insecurities that had plagued him when he had first taken over the Flash mantel. The idea of replacing Barry had never sat well with Wally. Wally had always idolized his uncle. No matter how hard he had tried, Hal had never quite been able to convince Wally that the kid would never really replace Barry. Yes, Wally was another Flash. But Barry would always have his place in history, just like Wally would have his…just like Bart would have his. At some point Wally had emerged from Barry's shadow and taken the Flash mantel to a new level. Hal had seen the beginnings of it when Wally had confronted Professor Zoom, but Wally had grown much more since then.

Taking a deep breath, Hal flew over to the young man he also considered a nephew. In many ways, Wally had had two mentors. Barry was the obvious one, but Hal knew he had played a role as well through his friendship with Barry. Green Lantern, Flash, and Kid Flash had shared many adventures together. When Barry had died, Hal's role in Wally's life had taken on an even greater significance as he had helped – watched over – the young man make the transition from Kid Flash to Flash. Besides, Flashes and Green Lanterns were meant to be there for each other. It was tradition.

Hal landed quietly behind the man, willing away his mask. He put a reassuring hand on Wally's shoulders. The shaking continued. "Wally?"

"He's dead, Hal." Wally wiped away the tears.

The news of Bart's death had moved quickly throughout the hero network. Even though Bart hadn't been Flash long, he was well-known throughout the hero community due to his time as Impulse and Kid Flash. The news of Bart's death had moved just as quickly across the globe through the media, even though the media had noted "yet another Flash had made the ultimate sacrifice." Hal sat down next to Wally. "Do you know who did it?"

"The Rogues. The damn Rogues. I never thought…I always…at least with Cold and the others, I always thought…I always believed they would never cross that line. It was a game to them. Mess with the Flash, but that's it. Nothing more."

The Rogues. The answer surprised Hal. He shared Wally's viewpoint. The Rogues were dangerous, no doubt about that. But as strange as it sounded, they always did seem to stop short of actually killing a hero, and they had had many opportunities over the years to do just that. Hal couldn't quite bring himself to think that they had morals. That seemed to be pushing it. Instead, the Rogues seemed to understand that if they ever crossed that line, there would be no turning back, their lives would be over, the rules of the game would be changed forever. "Are you sure they did it?"

Wally nodded. "Iris was there. God…she watched her own grandson get murdered." Wally shook his head.

Hal's blood ran cold upon hearing Wally's words. He knew Iris Allen was a strong woman, formidable in her own way, but this would push anyone's emotional limits. "Is Iris okay?"

"Yeah." Wally managed a weak smile. "She's Iris." That statement said it all. Hal understood. Iris had faced her share of challenges. Not that dealing with Bart's death would be easy for her. Unfortunately, she was a woman well-accustomed to death – Barry, their kids, and now Bart.

Wally stared out at the horizon. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to Bart…" More tears fell. He took a shaky breath. "She told me who was there. It was Cold and his gang of usual suspects. But she said the key one behind it was Inertia."

Inertia. Did he know that name? Nothing came to mind. There were still a lot of details he had yet to catch up on. There was only so much time in a day. He had quickly decided he'd figure it out as he went. It was a strategy that seemed to work for him. Besides, trying to read up on too much too quickly just gave him a headache. He still had difficulty wrapping his mind around the fact that Bart Allen was Barry and Iris' grandson. That statement alone gave him a headache. He had attended Iris' funeral. He had witnessed how devastated Barry had been. Yet, somehow, Iris had lived. After his murder trial, Barry had raced off to the future, found Iris, become a father…and a grandfather. Hal wondered if Barry had had the chance to know his children before he had returned to save the universe.

"At least Inertia won't be able to hurt anyone anymore."

Warning bells sounded in Hal's mind. He quickly looked at Wally in concern. Wally had a temper. Wally was obviously distraught. "What did you do?" He tried to keep his voice neutral. By the sour look on Wally's face, he obviously failed.

"I didn't kill him," Wally said with a hint of anger. "As much I wanted to, it's a line I won't cross. I just took away his speed. I immobilized him. It will take him over a hundred years to just blink."

Hal stared at Wally in stunned silence. What the hell kind of abilities had Wally developed? Steal speed? Barry had never done that. Nor had Wally, at least not from what Hal remembered. Hal recalled that Wally had been unable to vibrate through objects without them exploding. If Wally didn't have that level of control over his own molecules, how could he ever steal speed? It made him wonder what else Wally could do. "Doesn't that seem a little extreme?"

"He murdered Bart," Wally flatly stated. Hal remained silent, knowing there was nothing he could say to make Wally feel any better. He made a mental note to check on Inertia. He trusted Wally. He trusted Wally when Wally said he hadn't killed Inertia. Yet, something seemed off. For his own peace of mind, he just needed to confirm what Wally had said. As much as he hated the fact, Hal knew what it felt like to cross that line. He knew what it felt like to be questioned by fellow heroes, to be given those second looks and wondering glances. He would do anything to spare Wally that same fate.

"If I had known coming back meant Bart would die, I would've fought harder to stay," Wally said softly.

"I doubt you had that much control over the situation." Wally remained silent. "Did you have a choice?"

"No." Wally picked at a blade of grass. "The sky coughed lightning. It was all I could do to grab Linda and the kids."

"For the record, I don't believe there is any connection to what happened to you and what happened to Bart. It was just a coincidence…a bad one." Hal rested his hand on Wally's shoulder. "She won't have to go through this alone. In that sense, it's a blessing you and your family are back." Wally and Iris had always been close. Wally would do anything for his aunt, and with Bart's death, Iris would probably need him more than ever.

"Yeah, I guess." Wally again wiped away his tears. Several seconds of silence passed. "What exactly happened? I mean…how did I end up in Blue Valley?"

Hal felt a bit of his confidence return. Finally a question he could easily – or at least somewhat easily – answer. The science behind what had happened, if it could even be called science, was murky at best. But at least Hal knew the fundamentals of what had been proposed. "The Legion of Superheroes was sent back in time. They had these lightning rods. Clark knew what they meant to do. By using the lightning rods, they could bring someone back, but it also meant one of them had to die."

Wally frowned. "Someone back? You mean back from the dead?" Hal nodded. "But I wasn't dead."

"No, you were just gone. Jay and Bart told us on numerous occasions that you weren't dead. They just never said where you were."

"So, what happened?"

"They each had a lightning rod. Each one went to a different location. We followed them. Bruce had placed tracers on their uniforms. I followed one of them to Central City to the police lab." Wally's frown deepened. "We lost track of one of them, the one that came to Blue Valley. He had removed the tracer. Anyway, the sky suddenly spewed lightning. Clark, Jay, and Karen tracked it to Blue Valley, and they found you."

Wally shook his head. "No, back up a second. Where did everyone go? You said Central City. Where else?"

"Toyko, Smallville, San Francisco, Gotham, and Keystone."

Wally looked at him closely. "Who did you think was coming back?"

"I didn't know."

Wally frowned. "Liar." Damn. Wally knew him too well. "You said you were in Central City, at the police lab. You thought it was Barry. Barry was supposed to come back, not me."

"Wally, you don't know that."

"And neither do you," he shot back.

Hal sighed. "No, I don't. But those locations, you had connections to all of them. Blue Valley, Keystone and Central are obvious. San Francisco, maybe not where the Teen Titans were headquartered when you were a member, but it's where they are headquartered now. Smallville…where the battle with Superboy Prime, the one in which you disappeared, started. Tokyo…where Bart had reappeared as the Flash. Gotham," Hal smiled. "I lost track of how many times Bruce would mutter under his breath that you were visiting Dick."

The last comment made Wally smile a little. "He never said anything directly, but I could always tell he was never comfortable when I visited the Manor. Dick said I was imagining things, but I knew I wasn't. Bruce never quite knew what to do with me. And I swear Alfred packed away the china, or at least the good china, whenever I was there."

Hal smiled. "You and Dick and Roy managed to find – or create – your fair share of trouble."

The smile on Wally's face widened. "Yeah, we did. I can't believe Roy's Red Arrow."

"You should see Ollie. Fatherly pride doesn't even begin to describe it."

"What about Dick?"

"He's still Nightwing. He's working out of New York."

"Is he married yet?"

Married? Dick? That question seemed out of place. "No, why?"

"That idiot," Wally muttered. A part of Hal wanted to question Wally further, but another part of him warned to stay as far away from any discussion of marriage as possible…even if it wasn't about him. Luck was on his side. Wally moved on. "How's Kyle?"

"Good."

Wally studied him closely. "You haven't done anything to him, have you?"

"What? Why would you think that?"

"Because he has a bit of hero worship when it comes to you."

What? That was news. Maybe the lightning ride back had warped Wally's mind. Perhaps the kid wasn't thinking straight. "I don't think so."

"And how many times has he stood up to you since you returned? Has he ever talked back to you? Ever disagreed with you?"

Hal paused. Guy constantly talked back. That was just Guy. John would argue if John felt strongly about something. But Kyle? Had Kyle ever argued with him? Ever talked back? The answer was no. Then again, he hadn't seen Kyle do either with John…but he had witnessed Kyle and Guy disagree. Kyle would stand up to Guy. It was something to think about, something to talk to Kyle about. He glanced at Wally and noticed a smirk on Wally's face. It was time to bring Wally down a notch. "Maybe Kyle and I haven't disagreed, but he did share with me how you two seemed to disagree almost constantly at first."

Wally blushed. Hal smiled. "Yeah, well, he didn't realize what he had on his finger. He thought it was a cool toy."

"It is."

"And the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Well, yeah, there's also that." Hal paused briefly. "He also told me that you were one of my staunchest defenders, that if anyone said anything negative about me, you'd jump up and contradict them." Kyle's words had surprised him, particularly when Kyle explained how insistent Wally had been. To know Wally had stood by his side even after he had fought Wally as Parallax, it meant more than Hal could express.

Wally shrugged. "It was no big deal."

"Yes, it was. Thank you."

A comfortable silence fell between them. Hal had shared an easy camaraderie with Barry. That same ease had found its way to his relationship with Wally as well. "Why didn't you bring Barry back? You brought Ollie back."

Hal knew Wally asking that the question was inevitable. It was only a matter of when Wally would finally ask it. He took a deep breath, trying to find the best way to answer the question in his mind. Rather than answer it directly, he took the indirect approach. "Are you angry that I didn't?"

Wally shrugged. "Yes. No. You had all that power. You brought Ollie back. You gave me my secret identity back. It just…it just seems as if it would have been an easy thing to do."

"It would have…it would have been very easy to do, but that doesn't mean it would have been the right thing to do. When I was Parallax, I – Parallax – acted like God. The power was unbelievable. Acting like God got me into a lot of trouble as you recall. And if that wasn't enough, I then became the host for the Spirit of God's Vengeance. In what I did for you, what I did for Ollie, I was abusing the Spectre's – and Parallax's – power. I don't regret those decisions, but I was crossing a line." He paused. "After Sue was murdered, Ollie approached me and asked me to name Sue's killer. I knew who had done it, but I couldn't – or rather than Spectre wouldn't let me – give Ollie the name. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't." Of his time as Parallax, he remembered all of his actions with disturbing clarity. Of his time as the Spectre, certain actions stood out – helping Wally, seeing the disappointment on Ollie's face when he didn't name Sue Dibny's killer, and a few others – but most of those years remained a blur. It seemed the actions that directly impacted those he cared about he could remember; other actions he couldn't.

More silence fell between them. Hal was grateful Wally didn't push the topic. Could he have brought Barry back? Yes. Would he have? Hal didn't know. Technically it was Parallax who had brought Ollie back, even though the Spectre was needed to bring back Ollie's soul.

"Do you think things would have been different if Barry hadn't died? Do you think you still would have become Parallax?"

It was an honest question. The potential what-ifs and could-have-beens were almost endless. Yet, it was pointless to dwell on them. Barry hadn't lived. He had died. Life had moved on. Decisions had been made. "We both know things would be different if Barry hadn't died."

"I know, but…do you think Barry would have been able to save you?"

Hal smiled at the question. Once again, it was an honest question and he would give Wally an honest answer. "Barry was one of my best friends, and as much as I hate to say it, I don't think even he would have succeeded." A somber tone fell over them. His time as Parallax would forever taint him. It was something he had grown to accept.

Wally rolled a blade of grass between his fingers. "I – we should probably get back. Linda's probably getting worried."

"After you left, Jay looked after them. He said something about Dr. Mid-Nite giving her and your kids a quick check-up." Hal watched in surprise as that news seemed to make Wally grow nervous. "Everything okay?"

"Um, yeah, it's just my kids are a bit of a handful."

"I'm sure the League and JSA can handle them."

Wally grinned. "You haven't really met my kids. I can barely handle them."

"Something to do with the fact that they were babies when you disappeared and now they're not?"

"Yeah, something." Wally stood up.

Hal also stood. "Just one question, why are you in Manchester?"

Wally smiled warmly. "It was Bart's hometown for a bit."

The answer surprised Hal. From what he had learned about Bart and Bart's years as Impulse and Kid Flash, he had a hard time picturing the overly energetic teenager being able to function in the slower pace of the South. Hal had known his share of speedsters. He suspected the slow pace would irritate all of them, even Jay. "He was a good Flash. You – and Barry – would have been proud."

"I know. While I never would have admitted it, especially to Bart, I knew he would someday make a great Flash."

"Just like you. Barry would be bursting with pride if he could see you now. I know because I am."

Wally blushed. "I'm glad you're back."

"And I'm glad you're back." Hal gave Wally a quick hug. "We'll get through this."

"I know." Wally smiled. "You know, there was this one time when Bart decided…"

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><p>AN: For more information on the events regarding Bart's death and Wally's return, see TPB Flash: Full Throttle and TPB JLA: The Lightning Saga. For more on Wally's battle with Professor Zoom, see TPB Flash: The Return of Barry Allen. For more on Ollie's return, see TPB Green Arrow: Quiver.


End file.
